Died of injuries suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat operations.

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At 36, Michael K. Frank was inevitably called "Grandpa" by his younger fellow soldiers _ but he also was valued for his advice.

"If anyone ever had personal problems, Frank was always the guy to sit down and talk things over with," said Spc. Andrew Baker, his former roommate.

Frank, of Great Falls, Mont., was killed by a roadside bomb May 10 in Baghdad. He was a 1998 graduate of the University of Cincinnati and was assigned to Fort Bragg.

In high school, he ran the 400- and 800-meters for the track team. He also represented his school in the yearly South Dakota Knowledge Bowl twice.

After a four-year Army stint, he worked for a large private investigations company and then ran an Italian restaurant. But when the Iraq war started, he began to get restless, and decided that his place was back in the Army.

"I've got this training, and I've got to do my part," he told his father, Timothy. So he enlisted again.

Frank was a master of trivia games and enjoyed playing sports, particularly pickup games of basketball and football.

He also is survived by his mother, Diane.

Iraq bomb kills man with Great Falls ties

Explosive device claims life of former resident, son of civilian base dentistA soldier with Great Falls ties who was killed Thursday night in Iraq will be remembered as intelligent and caring, his father said.Spc. Michael Frank, 36, of the HHC1-504 Infantry, 2nd Brigade Combat Team 82nd Airborne, was killed when the Humvee he was riding in struck an improvised explosive device at about 10:22 p.m., Baghdad time, said Capt. John Bleile, casualty assistance officer for the Montana Guard."Michael died from wounds sustained from that IED," Bleile said.Frank was active-duty Army, serving his second tour and first Iraq deployment. Two other soldiers were injured as a result of the explosion, Bleile said."He was extremely proud of what they were doing and what they were accomplishing over there," said Frank's father, Dr. Timothy Frank, a civilian dentist at Malmstrom Air Force Base, who has lived in Great Falls since 1991. The two last spoke by phone several weeks ago, he said.Michael is also survived by his mother, neonatal nurse practitioner Diane Frank of Portland, Ore., and his brother Brian Frank, who is a civilian computer specialist for a private company in Afghanistan. Brian Frank previously was in the Army.As the child in a military family - his father was a Navy Pilot for 10 years, then a dentist in the Air Force prior to retiring - Michael Frank moved around the country. He was born in Texas and lived in Maine, Tennessee, Washington South Dakota, Ohio and Montana. He joined the military straight out of high school in 1989. Following basic training, he was stationed in Hawaii, his father said.Michael Frank graduated from Stevens High School in Rapid City, S.D., where he ran the 400- and 800-meters for the track team. He also represented his school in the yearly South Dakota Knowledge Bowl twice."He was very intelligent," Timothy Frank said Saturday night, noting his son scored well on his SAT tests and on the military entrance exam. "He just about maxed out the Army's ASVAB."After high school, Michael joined the Army, choosing that branch because his dad had already been in the Air Force and Navy."He wanted to do it on his own," Timothy Frank said.After his first tour of duty, spanning four years, Michael Frank went to the University of Cincinnati, where he earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. Following graduation, he did some private investigation work but decided it wasn't for him, his father said. He then managed an Italian restaurant.Timothy Frank said his son re-enlisted in the Army about a year ago, staying in his father's Great Falls home with his brother while the paperwork went through."The country was at war and he said 'I've got this training. I want to go do my part,'" Timothy Frank said of Michael. "He joined up with the idea of going to Iraq. He wanted to go there, he wanted to do his part."I know freedom comes at a cost. ... I was concerned but proud - extremely proud," he added.Bleile said Michael was an exemplary soldier, exhibiting the traits the Army looks for in recruits. Bleile also passed on Michael's fellow soldier's view of him."Just that he was an outstanding individual. A caring, loving individual," Bleile said.He added that Michael Frank was "a bit of a jokester" as well, to which Timothy Frank and his fiancée Mary Russell laughed in agreement.Michael Frank was also "a master of trivia games" and enjoyed playing sports, particularly pickup games of basketball and football, his father said."He just loved life and loved to enjoy life," Bleile said.Timothy Frank added that while Michael was quiet, he also set his mind to anything he decided to do."He was quiet but intense," Timothy Frank said.That intensity showed in his commitment to rejoin the Army, Bleile and Timothy Frank said. Bleile noted Michael Frank had re-enlisted with hopes of making it a career and becoming an officer. With such goals, he took his "refresher" training seriously, Timothy Frank said."(Michael) took great pride in staying in great tip-top physical condition," he said. "This time he took great pride in (that) even though he was 36, he was in the top five in physical tests in his company."Whatever he decided to do, he just buckled down," Timothy Frank later added.Services for Michael Frank have not been set but will take place in Cincinnati, Bleile said. Memorial donations may be sent to the Family Readiness Group, a support group for the families of deployed soldiers at: Family Readiness Group P.O. Box 4789 Helena, MT 59604.Bleile said Michael Frank's body is en route to Cincinnati from Iraq.